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I agree with much of what GB saying here. The 3rd down % is the most troubling stat imo. Poyer and Hyde also had gone into decline, couple with being the walking wounded. This year they were replaced with Hamlin (not a starter on most teams) and the brittle Taylor Rapp. Daquan is also declining. And yes, I like Bernard and was tired of seeing Edmunds lost on the field also, but Bernard is small out there. Milano's body has begun to fail him. I think it is just a drop off in talent across the board, as well as age catching up with others, and multiple injuries to key players, not just the one that started Tre's exit from Buffalo. So many of these things tied in together and now it's obvious that the defense needs a lot of tweaking to get us where we want to be.

I completely trust Brandon Beane to navigate this situation either way. He has done a nice job of re-signing players early before they hit the market (Spencer Brown) and also passing on players who would command a bigger contract than their value (Tremaine Edmunds). He also been very good at managing the cap. These are the highest paid NFL running backs: Christian McCaffrey, $16 million Alvin Kamara, $15 million Jonathan Taylor, $14 million Saquon Barkley, $12.6 million Josh Jacobs, $12 million Joe Mixon, $9.9 million Derrick Henry, $8 million D'Andre Swift, $8 million Tony Pollard, $7.3 million James Conner, $7 million Cook isn’t getting $15 million from any NFL team, including Buffalo. I think $11M-$12M is most likely and I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs for that amount in Buffalo.

They've put alot of resources into the defense and not a whole lot to show for it imo...Ed Oliver (9th overall), Groot (28th), Epenesa (2nd round), Boogie Basham (2nd), Elam (1st), Terrell Edmunds (16th). one of them is almost out of the league, Elam might be salvaged on a better scheme fit but probably a career backup, Epenesa is just a rotational player, the other was let go into free agency, Groot and Oliver are solid but we needed elite players and they are not that at least not yet. That is alot of misses by beane/McDermott and I put them both up there because although Beane picks the players I'm almost 99.9% certain both he and Sean go over the players together. They've swung and missed badly throughout their tenures here.

Everyone needs to remember a few things: 1. $20m per is the " high end", all incentives met figure. 2. Gtd $54m is the most important piece 3. Without knowing any details on how deal is structured/cap hits are spread out, this could end up being a 3 yr $54m deal - don't know yet 4. Cap/contracts continue to increase. His % of cap is very reasonable, based on projections and will continue to look better compared to peers as new deals work out (Fact). All that, plus, Groot is young only 24. This isn't another Edmunds situation, Groot has shown very good improvement/made splash plays (just not as consistent yet). This is a Spencer Brown situation IMO. High end talent, so close to putting it altogether. Groot has elite skills, and with another offseason + what is expected to be better coaching = potential for major step in 2025+. I'm all for this deal, it's fair on both sides. Paying for upside, but not an overpay. If Groot becomes a 12+ sack guy, which is extremely possible, this will be a HUGE underpay for us.

There’s no question that Russ and Ralph were trying to not lose money on the Bills first and foremost. Cash to cap spending and all that. The things @SoTier gets wrong are things like: Spiller wasn’t drafted because Lynch was walking in FA. Spiller was drafted and Lynch was traded because Lynch was addicted to hitting pedestrians in his car and doing other dumb *****. Ralph had been dead for 3 years when Gilmore walked and we were “forced” to draft his replacement in the first. (Funny how when we let Edmunds walk, we weren’t forced to draft his replacement in the first. Maybe this “forced” nonsense is just that). Mario Williams was perhaps the greatest Bills FA signing in 25 years. It was not the same as overpaying TO on a 1 year deal (which was in fact shameless FA move but a drop in the bucket imo) Pegula had opened up the checkbook for Whaley long before McD got there. The 2015 and 2016 Bills had a ton of money on the books. They were restructuring Clay and throwing money at Incognito etc etc. But we didn’t make the playoffs those years either, because our QB was dog ***** and our HC sucked too. So right church, wrong pew. The drought Bills were mismanaged. But even mismanagement can’t overcome having a good QB. The Bengals are notoriously cheap, and do dumb ***** or mismanage ***** all the time. When they have Palmer, Dalton, and now Burrow playing high-level ball, they make the playoffs. The Bills were mismanaged and were afraid to chase QBs. That combo is the recipe for the longest playoff drought in sports. this is OBVIOUS

Confess I've only seen a bit of him but my worry is he has the Tremaine Edmunds weakness - he has never seen a play action or a misdirection he didn't want to bite on.

The prototype LB we need is Edmunds size with someone else's instincts. Bernard was ok before the DL started underachieving. We could use upgrades at many positions, but interior DL is the biggest issue. Hopefully the Carter at 1T experiment will help in the playoffs.

As a corollary, when the Bengals were bad, they drafted Burrow, Chase and Higgins. when the Bills were bad, we drafted Josh, Edmunds, Oliver, Ford. Not that the Bengals are elite drafters, but they did far better maximizing those picks before their run started. But that’s Beane’s game. He’s got an excuse ready to go. It was COVID’s fault we had limited cap space past 2020, not him overpaying stiffs like Star Loutoto. the Bills win too many games to draft superstars, except that year where we won 6 games, drafted the fifth best DT of the first round in the top ten, and drafted a total bust in the top of the second that he would turn around and trade for a fifth 2 years later. Two years from now he’ll probably say we don’t have cap space because we retained Rousseau and Bernard, but ignore the two JAGs he overpaid for that imo have limited chance of living up to their contracts. It’s far easier being a GM when you tear a team down and aren’t paying anybody. You can sign 6 OL FAs and cut/trade whoever underperforms and eat their dead money. It’s harder when the belt tightens.

A lot of players get paid. They still care about their legacy and winning. I woudn’t judge Edmund’s tonight too harshly. He knows his team sucks and is out of the playoffs.

I've got to agree. A lot of the arguments you see in this thread sounds very similar to folks explaining how Star and Edmunds was much more vital to the Bills' success than it seems.

Beane’s picks: 2018 1st - Josh Allen: god tier pick 1st - Tremaine Edmunds: great pick 2019 1st - Ed Oliver: Great pick 2nd - Cody Ford: Bust 2020 1st - Stefon Diggs: elite tier 2nd - AJ Epenesa: good pick (consider the round) 2021 1st - GR: Good pick (he’s been productive and will earn a good contract. He’s good for picking at the end of the first) 2nd - Boogie Basham - Bust 2022 - 1st - Elam: Bust 2nd Cook: God tier pick 2023 1st - Kincaid: Good pick 2nd - Torrance: Elite Tier for 2nd round 2024 - TBD 3 busts in Boogie, Ford and Elam. The rest are good to God tier. Considering where the bills draft this is likely among the very best in the NFL. And the lower in the draft you go the better it is. Beane is in elite company as a drafter

I’ll never understand the ‘Rousseau is mediocre’ talk tbh. He is multiple tiers above Edmunds at his respective position to the point where it’s jarring seeing them mentioned in the same sentence like that 😂 also von was really good pre knee injury, if anything beane is probably kicking himself for not trading for Von the season before. It’s very likely we win the Super Bowl that year if we outbid LA for him. Idk how Donald could’ve made Von when he only played with him like half a year haha and he was exactly the same guy before he got hurt for the bills. 5 sacks in 8 games for LA, 8 sacks in just under 10.5 games for the bills. It’s weird how quick people forget, felt like a season altering injury when Von went down that year. He was playing great

Well no suck is relative Greg R, Tremaine , Ed Oliver , Kincaid not bad football players.. literally every other team in the league would employ them Like they're not busts.. Tremaine and Greg and Ed are actual starting caliber players.. Edmunds has 106 games played in his career and 106 starts .. 32 for 32 with the bears... Greg is starting on a lot of NFL teams The difference is they didn't develop into more than what they are.. you take a guy top 32 you want great not good But we have enough talent to win.. that's not a question But that also doesn't mean beane can't draft a little bit better in the top two rounds.. both can be true statements FYI the bills would be putting up a much better fight right now than the Chiefs

There's no way in hell I'm paying Greg anything past 14-15/ yr. And that's being generous. He's the epitome of Gabe Davis and Tremaine Edmunds. In 4 full seasons he's averaged 6.2 sacks. If this doesn't reek of Chris Kelsay, I don't know what does. We may be forced to sign him because we don't have anyone else. Von will be gone June 1st and there's no way we keep AJE after 2025, who's been more disappointing than Groot. We must go after a Cosby or Garrett. And we must draft multiple DL guys and pray one hits. Obviously I have little faith in Beane and his scouts, defensively.

I haven't said he is. But certainly he is a significantly better player than anyone we've extended this offseason. That's not debatable. Metcalf is a household name and someone you build your offense around. Rousseau is a piece. We're talking about a true #1 vs a #2. The $10M difference in their AAV reflects this. I'm just speaking for myself here. I wanted nothing to do with giving Edmunds a 2nd contract. If the insinuation is that I'm reactionary and/or critical of any move the Bills make, that's not the case at all. But I have been critical of Beane's resource management in two areas - overprioritizing solid players at the expense of great players, and underprioritizing pass catchers. This weekend's moves (and lack thereof) is right at the centerpoint of those criticisms. So yes I am very disappointed and concerned about this team's ability to go further in the playoffs. The worst part is I don't see any potential moves left. Adams is signed, Higgins is franchised. The fanbase is already talking themselves into Darius Slayton or Josh Palmer. Those are band-aid moves, not needle movers. Trading for Hendrickson is the one big needle mover still out there but even then the pass catching talent would still be severely lacking and there's not likely to be immediate solutions coming in the draft.

I agree. Beane's early picks have been meh. But is that due to poor scouting or waiting patiently until they are down to their final guy with a first round grade and settling for what's left? Maybe a combination of both? Because I'm a fat old guy I liken a lot of things to pie. You're sitting there and there's chocolate cream pie. Banana cream pie. And a nice apple pie. Now there's nothing wrong with any of those IMO, and they are all about the same. But for some reason, that banana cream would hit the spot on that day. Would you rather sit and hope a piece is left after everyone else goes through the line and end up with apple...or speak up and get that banana cream you need that day? (Feel free to substitute any pie if your preference in my analogy) I feel this kinda proves my point. He made several big leaks for Josh and that worked out well. Because they identified early who they wanted were super aggressive and attacked. The move for Edmunds was smaller, still aggressive and despite what many claim here was a solid player for 4 years on a rookie contract. When he swings big he usually connects. It's those micro trade up 3-4 spots for guys like Elam that swing and miss. I'm with you. Use those 2026 picks this year and worry about next year's draft next year

I realize you meant this as a joke but there is some happy place between Bernard's instincts and Edmunds's size. I wouldn't put it past the FO to get one of these in the upcoming draft. For this week, no matter what Bernard says, I would like him to not play and this heal up The Keon Coleman of mods

Of course you don’t run it back. You tweak. You add competition, who will win out. Coleman starting playoff games was a thing I don’t want to see next season unless his play deserves the chance. We needed all guys active on the field against the Chiefs, making plays. Why?! Because Brady didn’t give it to Cook enough. And when he didn’t, and when things weren’t easy, Coleman was blank. Sorry kid, I know he’s young. That’s part of the problem with Beane—he keeps drafting guys that are not even physically developed. What is that?! A race to draft 20 year olds. Should’ve learned from Edmunds, but instead he drafts worse 20yo talent later on, and were all going.. So we have to wait..? How long now..??

Edmunds was probably worth his drafted spot (or at least he's paid like it). Rousseau is probably worth his drafted spot. Ed Oliver hasn't been a bust, but hasn't been worth a top-10 pick. Bills just haven't had a pick that isn't at the end of the draft since 2019. That will be 6 drafts ago after this April. Maybe we should have been more aggressive trading up, but usually the bottom of the first round isn't going to have elite talent. It will be either high risk raw prospect, or a lower ceiling "sure thing" guys. Just to compare to a team in a similar circumstance, here are the KC 1st round picks since Mahomes: - Clyde Edwards-Helaire - Trent McDuffie - George Karlaftis - Felix Anudike-Uzomah - Xavier Worthy CEH and Anudike-Uzomah are busts. McDuffie was a hit. Karlaftis is fine (probably equivalent to Rousseau). Worthy was fine, but more of a complementary piece. They've drafted a tick better than us, but not dramatically better IMO.

He made a couple of social media comments. Not even posts. We have no idea what his agent has asked for or will ask for. But all yall are up in your feelings about it. "It" being social media comments... If that is their starting point, then it's all but guaranteed he will settle for less. Both sides come to the table at their extreme. I know that happens around the NFL, and can happen anywhere. But it isnt the Bills MO. First, there is much more back and forth, and the Bills will surely counteroffer (maybe only once, but they will present a full deal with bonuses, incentives, and guarantees outlined). This has happened with nearly everyone Beane has had to re-sign. And outside of Edmunds (who we didnt care to re-sign), and when Shaq and Jordan Phillips chased the money, Beane has re-signed everyone at a team-friendly yet player-fair deal. And I'm sure all of those negotiations started with the player/agent asking for more than they ultimately got.

They're further away than the score indicated. No blue chip players around Allen. Very avg coach with a historically bad defense in the playoffs Cap situation isn't bad but we aren't making some huge significant signing Gm has been terrible in the draft at the top. This regime is living off the greatness of an all time all time QB and has done very little Even going back to Edmunds and Cody Ford. We are overrated in talent Yup. It only got worse for the Warren Moon oilers. That team was mentally fragile and you can see it with this team and coach. It's why I want to move on from McDermott and Beane We've all seen how this ends

Hope your offseason is going well! Good seeing you on here. You can substitute BILLS for bengals. Same type of unbelievable things these franchises seem to always find themselves in. Even listening to beane wiggle. out of this he still knew fully one guy was suspended, further narrowing margins of error. This is just one more example of biillsey things with this regime. If I was pegula , I would finally have reached a limit of throwing good money down the drain because of my gm and scouting staff not improving the quality of signings. Two guys out for a third of the season right on heels of a failed first rounder like Elam , Also Edmund’s inbthe past and Tate worthy/ Coleman optics from last year. It may be the NFL, but guess what, it’s time for accountability. I would st Beane down and discuss a three week period of docking salary and allow Beane to pass 25% down line. No firings, just a few weeks where Beane feels not earring either and let’s see if some urgency , not just being a nice guy is required. It’s 8-9 years. Lots of wasted money , maybe others Ned some skin in the game. Patience as an owner has been perfect. Maybe a little pressure is needed Jk, but would be furious and looking to spread some accountability! Man, they just always find a way to look foolish for no reason. Have good march madness! 😊✌️

Yes, he plays only 50% of snaps. But that's what we do with him here. Other teams may see a bigger role for him. And they may look at it is a net positive more than a negative because not only will he be 26 at the point of signing, he will have less wear and tear than most 26 year old Running Backs. Bills fans like to focus only on the negatives on the scouting report, usage in our system and pass blocking abilities (or lack thereof) to argue he should make less than market value. While ignoring the positives like age, wear and tear, stats, big plays at big times, speed, elusiveness, etc. For every RB (or any player for that matter), you can find negative things. They still get paid. Guys like McCaffrey and Barkley have had multiple serious injuries and are older than Cook. Kamara is at 12.5 and while he does stay on the field more, he is 29 and has had injuries. He also wasn't a great pass blocker in the beginning and grew into becoming better at it. 10m is the number 30 year old Aaron Jones is paid. There's no way James Cook is paid the same as Aaron Jones at 30 years old. 10-12m might be *your* max for what you'd be willing to pay him for his role in Buffalo. But I guarantee you, that's not what he'll be signing for. Whether that's here or elsewhere. Your absolute max price is about 500k to 1m less than what I'd expect the low number to be if he has another season like last year - based on recent contracts for the position and the continual rise in cap. Everyone? You mean this season? Bc I can think of a number of people who have left us for more money elsewhere over the years. Tremaine Edmunds, Gabe Davis, Harrison Phillips, Leonard Floyd, Jordan Phillips, Shaq Lawson, even guys like Levi Wallace and Dane Jackson left when someone offered them slightly more money than what we'd pay. The RB position is a different situation too. Often times you've got one chance to really cash in. As once a RB hits 30, they're more often than not the same player.

Allen keeps getting bigger and Edmunds stays the same age (still 20 years old).

Exactly right. Monos was part of a failed regime, and McDermott and Beane have exposed how badly they failed. Lookiing at just how they drafted in the first two rounds of their drafts exposes the failures of the Monos/Whaley regime. Monos/Whaley's first and second round picks: 2013: #16 QB EJ Manuel , #41 WR Robert Woods), #46 LB Kiko Alonzo 2014: #4 WR Sammy Watkins, #44 OT Cyrus Kouandijo 2015: #50 DB Ronald Darby 2016: #19 DE Shaq Lawson, #41 LB Reggie Ragland In 2015, Darby was runner up in DROY voting. In 2014, Watkins had 982 yards. In 2015 he had 1047 yards. Playing with Mahomes in 2019, he had 673 yards. 2017 was clearly McDermott's draft. While Monos and Whaley were still officially in their titles, McDermott selected the picks. Whaley was fired immediately after the 2017 draft, and Monos was among the Bills staff who were let go by Beane after he was hired as GM. Sean McDermott's first and second round draft picks: 2017: #27 DB Tre'Davious White, #37 WR Zay Jones, #63 LT Dion Dawkins In 2017, White was 2nd in DROY voting. In 2019, White was first team All Pro and 5th in DPOY voting. In 2020, he was 2nd team All Pro. From 2021 through 2024, Dawkins was been named to the PB 4 times. Beane's first and second round draft picks: 2018 - #7 QB Josh Allen, #16 LB Tremaine Edmunds 2019 - #9 DT Ed Oliver, #38 OG Cody Ford 2020 -#54 DE AJ Epenesa 2021 - #30 DE Gregory Rousseau, #61 LB Boogie Basham 2022 - #23 CB Kaiir Elam, #63 RB James Cook In 2024, after numerous PB and AP awards, Allen was named NFL MVP. In 2019 and 2020, Edmunds was named to the PB. In 2023 and 2024, Cook was named to the PB. He also ran for 1000+ yards in both seasons. He also scored 16 TDs in 2024. Of course, Monos is going to dump on Beane and McDermott. Bean and McDermott exposed the institutional incompentency of their predecessors.